Keep Arkansas Beautiful announces statewide K-5 student contest

Part of Great American Cleanup effort, poster entries should focus on litter-free places

LITTLE ROCK (Feb. 1, 2018) – The Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission (KAB) invites students in grades kindergarten through fifth to put their creativity on paper and enter this year’s Great American Cleanup® in Arkansas Youth Poster Contest. Entries are due Thursday, March 1.

Each year, KAB hosts the youth poster contest as part of the Keep America Beautiful™ Great American Cleanup in Arkansas to engage elementary-age students in litter-awareness education, to increase involvement in the cleanup initiative statewide, and to educate the public about the importance of a litter-free community.

“All Arkansans can do something to keep the places we call home litter-free,” said Liz Philpott, volunteer program manager at KAB and statewide coordinator of the Great American Cleanup in Arkansas. “Our youth are especially important to making and keeping Arkansas clean. And they are such great influencers on the rest of us! It’s inspiring each year to see how creative our young people are when communicating about litter. Their posters are always compelling and artistic.”

The contest is open to all elementary-aged students in Arkansas. Scouts, 4-H club members and home-schooled students are also encouraged to enter. One poster per class or group should be submitted for statewide judging.

Entries will be accepted in two divisions: Grades K-2 and Grades 3-5. Posters must be no larger than 8½” x 11 and can be submitted on any sort of paper medium, including copier paper, construction paper and poster board.

Prizes will be awarded to the Top 3 posters in each division. KAB and Great American Cleanup in Arkansas representatives will recognize winners in their local communities during March and April. Winning posters and honorable mentions will be displayed April 16-27 at the Thea Foundation Art Gallery on Main Street in downtown North Little Rock, as well as on KAB’s Facebook page.

Entries are due Thursday, March 1, by mail or delivery to Keep Arkansas Beautiful, 1 Capitol Mall, Suite 4A-0007, Little Rock, AR 72201. Additional information about contest rules and entry is available at KeepArkansasBeautiful.com, by emailing info@keeparkansasbeautiful.com or by calling 888-742-8701 toll-free.

The Keep America Beautiful Great American Cleanup in Arkansas, organized and promoted statewide by KAB, is an annual spring cleanup event when communities focus on local beautification efforts in advance of Arkansas’s busy tourism season. Communities and groups are invited to sign up to organize a local cleanup at http://bit.ly/2018GAC. Volunteers can find local cleanups on the calendar of events at KeepArkansasBeautiful.com. The Great American Cleanup in Arkansas runs March through May.

About Keep Arkansas Beautiful

The Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission (KAB), consisting of a professional staff of three and a nine-member advisory board appointed by the governor, is a division of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. As a certified state affiliate of Keep America Beautiful Inc., KAB inspires and educates individuals to reduce litter, recycle and keep Arkansas beautiful. KAB is funded through its 1-percent portion of the eighth-cent Conservation Tax. For more information, visit KeepArkansasBeautiful.com or stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest.

About Keep America Beautiful Inc.

Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s iconic community improvement nonprofit organization, inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. Celebrating its 65th Anniversary in 2018, Keep America Beautiful strives to end littering, improve recycling and beautify America’s communities, so that everyone can live in a community that is clean, green and beautiful.

Behavior change – steeped in education, research and behavioral science – is the cornerstone of Keep America Beautiful. The organization empowers generations of community and environmental stewards through volunteer programs, hands-on experiences, educational curricula, practical advice and other resources. It is driven by the work and passion of more than 600 certified affiliates, millions of volunteers, and the collaborative support of corporate partners, social and civic service organizations, academia, municipalities, elected officials and individuals. Join Keep America Beautiful on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Take action at kab.org.